Cello was Mark Levinson's brand after he left ML, I don't remember them being connected with AR but a lot of products that are announced or even appear at shows that are never actually marketed. |
Rickmac - The Cello Amati speaker was closely based on the AR LST speaker. Mark Levinson designed the crossover. It was considered high end with a suitably high price tag. |
My bad, although I began in audio so long ago that my first speaker [mono] was an AR 2, now I think of AR as being Audio Research and not Acoustic Research. |
AR=Acoustic Research
ARC-Audio Research Corporation
At least, that's how they used to do it back in the 80's and 90's in the Sunday New York Times classified. That was before the internet and Audiogon and Audioreview.
Also, it the intervening years the status of Acoustic Research has descended to big box store marketing product. |
i believe the original design was by roy allison for ar. |
Maybe this equipment was so obscure that no one remembers it. I remember ads in Audio inside the covers announcing this line. There were some pretty sexy shots of the faceplates in the ad. There was to be a preamp with tone control setup simular to and designed by Cello.And no, it wasn't their April issue! I think the relationship between Cello and AR is simular to that of Pass and Adcom. It is possible the equipment was prototyped but never sold. I heard a pair of ESS Transars in the early 80's which I'm not sure were ever marketed. |
the cello variation of the ar would be akin to audio note's re-imagining of snell. the originals lacked nothing except a very high price tag. |
If I recall clearly, this was the AR Limited line. The products were quite impressive in sound and appearance. I remember a demo of the entire ensemble at Sound by Singer.
Here's a link to some of it: http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/library/acoustic_research/classic_limited_series/classic_limited_series_ads/ar_limited_ad/ar_limited_ad.html
Kal |
Thanks Kal, you hit the nail right on the head. I've never seen any for sale on the used market. Is it in the BlueBook? The ad doesn't mention the Cello connection but I clearly remember reading about one, maybe in a CES report in one of the mags at the time.The 'Spectral Equalizer' mentioned in the ad is simular to what Cello offered, isn't it? |
I think only about 150 pairs of the Cello Amati speakers were made. They occasional come up for sale on Audiogon. |
As I recall the AR Limited edition pre-amp-equilizer was
designed by Cello. The amp was designed by Dan D'Augisino
of Krell. These were ment to be paired with the AR classic
series of speakers, such as the Classic 26's.
drjoe |
As one of the very first Cello dealers, the only connection I remember was the AR LST redo.
There were never any other products related to AR. |
Kal's link leads to the answer. I gather each piece of equipment in the Limited line was designed by a leading equipment designer of the time. The speakers were designed by by John Buzzota, Dave Cahill, and David Day of Day Sequerra. The amp and equalizer were designed as Drjoe explained,Dan D'Agostino of Krell and Mark Levinson of Cello,while the preamp was designed by David Day of Day Sequerra. I wonder how many sets were made. |
I was just researching the AR Limited Model 3 and ran across this thread. I know it's old, but if anyone reads it or cares, it is interesting that I have a whole "kit" w/plans version of these that were AR stock bought out when AR aborted that hi-end endeavor. I have no case work but do have the 4-Dyn D76's, 2-Dyn D260's, 2- proprietary AR 12" woofs & the original genuine crossovers.. large things of beauty! Have full plans with large plastic to scale stencil type affairs to aid in the build. It is all brand new and been tucked away since I bought it all from "Mluong" on e-bay in '06. I'm quite happy with the Innersound stats I use, but have been debating building them (I am a cabinetmaker) or perhaps try to sell kit, or perhaps part out? I really don't know what this stuff may be worth. Any thoughts by anyone? Thanks, Rob
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Cello chose a very odd reference design for the Amati in the AR LST. I've never heard the Amati, but I did listen extensively to the LST back in the heyday of AR, KLH, EPI and Advent. Gee, what a dismal-sounding speaker. It wasn't just bad - it was really bad, a landmark of badness. Diffuse, blurry, veiled - how much more can one stand? The AR-3A, using fewer of the same drivers, sounded clearer, and even it was woefully out of date by the time the KLHs and Advents rolled along. I think the LST suffered from destructive interference from all those tweeters, being almost Bose-like at least in the forward hemisphere of radiation. That autotransformer may not have been very good either. That ML "designed" the crossover of the Amati hardly adds any hope that it might be better. |
Hello, I know I'm late to the party, But I own a pair of AR Limited 3's. Is there a way to private message on this site? I would like to contact
rob755 to talk to him about the spares he has for the Limited 3's.
That being said I love the sound of the limited 3, I also have the ar 9's in comparison I would say the 9's have better bass,but the L3;s have better mids and highs and overall a smother balance. They are also moor acceptable by my wife to put in our living room. |
dj82501,
The AR9 was one of my favorite speakers of all time. You needed muscle to make them sing. A friend had two Phase Linear Dual-500's bi-amping them. I could find no fault in them whatsoever.
Given the right electronics, nothing back then could touch them.
Norman
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The early Cello Amati speakers utilized AR drivers. I never heard them, but I've been told that they were not very good. Later, Cello switched to Dynaudio drivers (produced to Cello's specifications). These speakers were in fact very good, but also power hungry!
Ken |
